Another one Bites the Dust
by Dave
Summary: An episode style story that takes place during season 2. Something in Sunnydale is killing vampires and it is not Buffy. She appreciates the help until the unknown slayer attacks Angel.


Another one Bites the Dust

Another one Bites the Dust

by [David Pontier][1]

[Homepage][2]

Disclaimer: The following characters were created by Joss Whedon and are the property of whatever station Buffy is on this year.

Intro

This story was written in the style of an episode. The time frame is early Season 2. That's where FX is; that's where I am. For those of you with me on author alert who are wondering what the heck this is, don't worry, I'm working on more SW and FR stuff. I just needed to write this to sate an obsession I'm going through. Enjoy.

****

Story

The vampire ran.

Branches broke aside as he tore through the woods, totally ignoring the numerous paths that ran through the trees. He paid very little attention to where he was going and spent the majority of his time with is eyes casting worried looks behind him. It came, then, as a great surprise when a size 7 sneaker slammed into his face and sent him to the ground.

He bounced back up as if landing on a trampoline, but two quick punches in the gut and another swift kick to the head sent him down again. The vampire had paid so little attention to where he was going, that he had thought he had simply ran into a tree. Now, as a young girl leaped onto his chest, he understood his fate. "Slayer," he said with near joy in his voice.

"That's, _The_ Slayer to you, buddy" Buffy quipped back, a stake out and poised above her head. She paused. It was normal for vampires to wear grins as she battled them. They probably knew they were going to die, but the simple thought of violence brought joy to their demon hearts. This vampire was grinning too, but it was more a look of relief.

The grin was covering up a second emotion that now surfaced as Buffy held the killing blow in check. "Please, kill me," it pleaded. "What are you waiting for?" He was lying on his back, and could only look from side to side, but Buffy got the impression that if he could, he would be staring in horror back in the direction he had come.

Most vampires knew who she was. And even though her win/loss record was impressive, they never tended to show fear. As Jenny Calendar had put it once, Buffy was kind of warm and fuzzy for a message of doom. This vampire was definitely showing fear, and it was not directed toward her. She liked to think of herself as the most lethal thing in Sunnydale, but the way this vampire was acting, compared to what was following him, she felt like a puppy.

"What is it?" she asked, the stake still poised above her head. "What's chasing you?"

The vampire covered his fear with another smile. "Ernesto will kill you, Slayer."

Buffy took her focus off her prey for a moment to peer off into the darkness of the woods. She thought she could sense something, but she did not get a chance to identify it. The vampire used this opportunity to lash out at Buffy. She barely dodged out of the way, and was off-balance as the vampire threw her off him. She hit a tree hard, but the vampire ignored her, running off in the same direction he had been going originally.

Xander and Willow stood in a small clearing, waiting. Buffy had told them to stay put and wait for her, and they had learned a long time ago that it was not a bad idea to listen to what she said. Xander studied the edge of the tree line, constantly tightening the grip on his baseball bat. He and Willow had a good system, in theory. He knocked the vampires out, and Willow staked them. To date, the system had never failed, but that is only because Xander defined success as not dying. If you actually counted how many vampires they had killed, they were not doing too well.

Xander was beginning to relax when the vampire came tearing out of the woods. As always, Xander's first instinct was to run. This well developed instinct was directly responsible for their system never working, but Xander liked to think of it as being the sole reason it had never failed. In this case, Xander's desire to flee was only exceeded by the vampire's total disregard of Xander's presence. This created a mysterious sense of confidence in the would be slayer, and he stepped up to the fleeing vampire and swung.

The vampire did not want a fight. He wanted to get away. He could sense the fear in the two students in front of him and hoped it would be enough to avoid a fight. As the baseball bat thudded into his chest, he realized that would not be the case. The vampire went sprawling.

"It worked!" Xander was shocked. "Willow-" but his companion was already on the job, leaping forward with her stake. She never got close.

The vampire snarled and swiped his clawed hand at Willow's slight frame. He scratched her arm, and she dropped the stake, scampering back and stumbling to the ground. The vampire leaped up to follow, but Xander stepped in, swing again. The vampire caught the bat this time and easily wrenched it from his mortal opponent's hands. He flipped it in the air and swung at Xander.

His "run away" instinct resurfaced, but Xander could not find his footing in time to turn and avoid the bat. The aluminum weapon clipped him on the side, and he went down. The vampire stood over him with the bat raised for a killing blow, and he paused. Both he and Xander looked at the vampire's chest where a small wooden tip was protruding.

The vampire dissolved suddenly into a shower of dust, and the bat fell harmlessly to the ground. Xander's eyes went from Buffy, who still held her hand poised in front of her, to his bat, which lay at his feet. He quickly stood up and nodded his thanks. "And another one bites the dust."

Buffy shrugged and looked toward Willow. Willow was holding her scratched arm, and Buffy ran over to her. "Are you okay?"

Willow pulled her hand away, and looked at her arm. "I think so. It wasn't that bad. And I almost got him."

"Of course you did."

"No, really, you should've seen it. Xander knocked him down, and then I jumped him. It worked great." Buffy was unconvinced. When she had entered the scene, both Willow and Xander were on the ground, both of them disarmed and moments from serious injury. "Well, it almost worked."

Buffy helped Willow to her feet. They both looked at Xander who was still standing rigid over his bat. "What's wrong with him?" Buffy asked. They both walked up to him.

"Another one bites the dust," he mumbled to himself.

"Yes," Buffy said, "I heard you the first time. I thought it was a but cliché then, and it isn't getting better."

"No," Xander finally looked up. "Don't you see? Vampires bite people. When they die they turn to dust. Another one bites the dust."

"And?" both girls said in unison.

"And . . . Arrhhg!" he shouted, both fists shaking in frustration. "There's a pun there! I just know it! I just . . . Arrhhg!"

"Come on." Willow stooped to pick up the bat and grabbed his arm. "Sleep on it. I'm sure it will come to you."

Buffy smiled to herself and followed. A sense of dread ended her mirth suddenly, and she turned back to survey the woods. Something else was out there. Buffy could feel it. She also knew it could sense her. It sent a chill down her spine, and she rushed to follow her friends.

From the shadows along the tree line, a set of glowing red eyes watched the young trio leave. "A slayer," a voice growled. "So the rumors are true. That vampire should have been mine. This type of competition can not remain." The creature thought momentarily about chasing after her now, ending this tonight. It restrained that urge. Despite the pretty package, it knew what a slayer was. Their time would come.

***

Buffy walked into school fifteen minutes early. Her mom must think she was eager to learn for she seemed to be going to school earlier and earlier each morning. If only she knew why Buffy really went to school early.

Not surprisingly, Willow and Xander were already in the library sitting at a table. "Good morning, Buffy," Giles said with a voice that sounded like it had already drank an entire pot of coffee or, in his case, tea. "I heard you had a successful hunt last night."

"I told him how we _dust**e**d_ that vampire last night," Willow said with glee. Xander sat beside her and pounded the table in frustration. Willow chuckled.

Giles looked at them with confusion. "What's his problem?"

"Pun trouble," Buffy responded, smiling in spite of herself.

"Well," Giles said, doing a full body shrug of indifference, a move that had become all too familiar around his strange associates, "one more vampire. That's four in the past month. I think the slump is now official."

"And I am concerned about my stats, Giles," Buffy responded in a way that made Giles unsure if she was being serious or not. "I take this job seriously, and I don't want my ranking to slip because the vampires are disappearing. I almost miss the days when I would be assured of getting one a night."

"Does this mean we won?" Willow asked. "A few more vampires _bite_ it and we're done?" Xander pounded the table harder this time and grunted in frustration.

"Uh, not exactly," Giles said, throwing a confused look toward the young man. "I'm afraid as long as there's a Hellmouth, there will always be vampires and the like."

"So is this like the off-season?" Xander asked, trying to put his deconstructed pun out of his mind for a while. "Kind of like spring training and all. They're just getting prepared for a big season."

"Except this is fall," Willow countered.

"Yea, well, I figured since they sleep during the day and walk around at night, they might be backwards elsewhere too."

"I don't know," Giles cut in. "I've never read anywhere about vampires taking scheduled time off to regroup. I suppose it's possible."

"I know what it is," Buffy interrupted. "This one last night was being chased. It was terrified of something. I believe he called it Ernesto."

"Another vampire?" Willow asked.

"Not likely," Giles responded. "Vampires don't usually fight among themselves. They've found that there is strength in numbers. Especially with a slayer like Buffy around."

"What do you mean, 'a slayer _like_ Buffy?'" Xander asked.

"Yea," Buffy added. "Do I have a ranking?"

"Uh, something like that," Giles said, suddenly wishing he had not of brought it up.

"What is it? Where did you find it?"

"I, uh, saw it on the, uh, that computer thing."

"What," Willow piped up, "like a watcher's chat room? You've been on the net?"

"Uh, something like that. Miss Calendar might have shown it to me. Though the other watchers tend to think you have an unfair advantage, living on a Hellmouth and all. But back to the case at hand. So there was something chasing this vampire?"

"Yea," Buffy said, making a mental note to press for her actual ranking later. "And it seemed overwhelmed with joy at the prospect that I might kill it and rescue it from this Ernesto."

"Another slayer?" Xander asked.

"Whose scarier than me?" Buffy sounded hurt. Xander shrugged. "It's probably a demon or something."

"Well if it's killing vampires, that's a good thing, right?" Willow asked.

"Perhaps," Giles said. "It all depends why."

"Well if the vampire population is getting low, this Ernesto might get desperate and show himself," Buffy reasoned. "I admit with the drop in action, I haven't been patrolling as vigilantly, but if Ernesto has to go hunting now just like me, we might bump into each other."

"If we need a vampire for bait," Xander started, "I know where to find one."

Everyone looked at him curiously, but Buffy caught on right away. "Not Angel."

Xander was saved by the bell. "Well, off to class," he said joyfully as he picked up his books. As he walked past Buffy, he could hear her humming "Another one bites the dust," and he quickened his pace.

"So you'll look up things that kill vampires that aren't named me?" Buffy asked as she turned to leave as well.

"Well, I suppose it's my job."

"Thanks. And put in a good word for me in your chat room."

***

Buffy worked her way through the crowded lunchroom toward the table where her friends sat. She broke in during the middle of their conversation.

"…if they bit each other while they were dying?" Willow was asking.

"I don't think they would be biting each other while someone was slaying them."

"What if one of them had silver dentures?"

"They don't bite each other, Will, that's the point. I need them to not only die as they are being bitten, but that dust has to be the reason for his death."

Buffy set her tray down on the table. "Hi guys, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," they said in unison.

Buffy shrugged and sat down. "So do we have any big plans for tonight?"

"You're not hunting?"

Buffy shook her head. "Nah, there aren't any vamps left, and what ever this other creature is, he's either killing our undead friends because he's good, or beyond evil. If it's the first, I don't need to worry. If it's the latter, I'd like a little more info from Giles first. So, what are we doing?"

"I was thinking skeetball," Xander said enthusiastically. "You know, the classic combination of bowling and darts. I hear if you get 100 tickets, you can exchange them for these cool medicine balls. You know the ones you can roll around in your hand."

Buffy and Willow just exchanged worried glances. "So, the Bronze?" Buffy said.

"That's what we were thinking," Willow agreed.

"I hope Angel shows up," Buffy said absent-mindedly. Her two friends looked at her closely. "I, uh, mean, we really haven't had time to talk-"

"-or kiss-" Willow threw in.

"-much since I got back from LA." Buffy threw Willow a sideways glance.

"Or maybe foosball," Xander did not want to give up. "I hear there's this really neat table at the arcade, where the players take off their shirts after they score." Buffy and Willow glared at him. "The Bronze is good too."

***

Angel sat in his tiny room watching the light from outside diminish. Every waking hour that he spent was focused on one of two things. He either thought of Buffy, or he thought of how they would never be able to have a normal relationship because of the inconvenient fact that he was undead. In 241 years, he had met a lot of women, but there was something different about Buffy. Her role as a slayer gave her a certain understanding and maturity that often exceeded even his extensive experience.

He could not deny the whole allure of the forbidden relationship. People always want what they can not have. There was more to this, but that underlying feeling did have something to do with it. Buffy was strong, she was smart, and of course, beautiful. If ever there was a mortal that could understand and accept Angel for who he was, and who he had been, it was Buffy.

Heightening the idea that theirs was a forbidden relationship was the fact that they could only meet at night. It was as if they were teenagers (well one of them was) whose parents had forbidden them to see each other and they had to sneak off at night. As Angel saw the last light flicker away from the day, he breathed a sigh of relief. Even if it was only for a few hours each night, it was something he did not want to give up.

Buffy would be at the Bronze tonight. He just knew she would be. The night was cool as the season slowly turned toward winter. Angel thought of little as he walked through the night, avoiding the streetlights and other pedestrians. He left the street and cut through the cemetery. It was more than just a short cut. There was always the chance that Buffy might be out patrolling, and this would be the place to find her.

Sure enough, he saw a figure moving quietly and stealthily through the bordering trees. To anyone other than a creature of the night, the hunter would have seemed invisible, but Angel picked it up. He made no effort to hide his approach, and saw recognition in the hunter's posture as he drew near. The silhouette suddenly stood to its full height, and Angel stopped. It was not Buffy. In fact, Angel had doubts it was even human. It stood almost seven feet tall and was either heavily muscled or heavily armored.

Angel froze. A clear sense of dread and fear ran down his spine, and he could not keep his demon visage from coming to his face. The hunter noticed this transformation, and his posture changed dramatically. The creature began to stalk towards him. Angel fought briefly with his inner demon. Half of him wanted to fight, but the other half – his human half – knew he had no business going up against this creature. Common sense won out, and he ran.

Running through the graveyard made Angel feel like a downhill slalom skier. He wove between the gravestones and fresh beds. Despite his speed and familiarity with the graveyard, he could hear the hunter gaining on him. Just as he approached an above ground crypt, he was struck from behind and flew headlong into the building.

As Angel started to pick himself up, the hunter did it for him. Angel was heaved into the air, his feet a foot off the ground and his back pressed up against the wall behind him. The creature held him securely with only one arm as he analyzed his prey. Angel too looked on with interest. He appeared to be a vampire. He had the teeth, the eyes, and the furrowed brow, but everything else screamed demon. He seemed to be more animal than anything else. And the strength with which he held Angel aloft was definitely superhuman.

Keeping with the animal image, the creature sniffed the air. "What are you?" it asked. "You look like a vampire, but something is different."

The voice was low and guttural, as if he was gargling lava. "I could ask you the same question, ugly," Angel responded. His time around Buffy and her fearless quips was taking its toll.

The creature hoisted Angel even higher. "Answer my question!" Angel was being choked by the grip. It wasn't as if he needed the air, but pain was also a factor. He also noticed that at his new elevation, his right foot had a great angle of attack. He kicked out hard and caught the creature between the legs. The howl was tremendous and Angel was released.

He hit the ground hard and rolled out of the way. "What ever you are, at least your genitals are in the right place." He scampered away quickly as the creature made a lunging grab. As he ran again, knowing that he would be overtaken and killed, he tried to form some type of plan. As he thought and ran, he almost fell into an open grave. Man, these things were common in Sunnydale.

He avoided the pit, but then tripped over a shovel. He rolled out of the way of a fierce kick, and managed to pick up the shovel as he rose to meet his enemy. As big as the shovel was, it looked tiny as Angel sung it at the mutant vampire. The creature just laughed. "Put down your toy and allow yourself some dignity. I promise I won't kill you."

Angel circled his foe, keeping him at bay with the blade of the shovel. He lunged forward suddenly, swing from his shoulder. The quickness of the move startled the creature and it took a tentative step backwards, easily blocking he attack. Angel cared nothing about the attack, but took interest in the way the creature's small step stumbled on a gravestone.

Angel had lined it up perfectly, and the creature had to take a big step back to keep from falling. Unfortunately for him, his second step found only air, and he tumbled into the open grave. Angel did not bother to check on the creature's condition, but tossed the shovel aside and ran.

Ernesto picked himself up slowly from the deep grave. He peered out of the hole and saw that for the second night in a row, he had lost a vampire. Angel was gone. He heaved his tremendous bulk out of the grave and stood beside it. He picked up the discarded shovel and easily snapped the wooden handle in half. Vampires were getting scarce. If things did not pick up, he would have to take matters into his own hands.

***

Buffy walked slowly up the stairs to her room. It was late. She had stayed out as late as she dared without inciting her mother's wrath. When she went hunting, she did not tell her mother, and merely snuck out. But when she went to the Bronze, her mother knew, and thus a curfew was in affect.

She had stayed as late as she dared, but Angel had not shown up. Xander constantly felt the need to mention how he was probably off having a suck-fest with some innocent girls across town, or how this unknown vampire killer had probably already gotten him. Buffy knew the comments were made out of jealousy and she resented them, but at the same time, they did remind her what Angel really was.

Also, Xander was jealous because he cared for Buffy; he had made that perfectly clear. While she did not return that love, she did appreciate it. She had seen the way he protected Willow and had witnessed that protection first hand when she had fought the Master. Despite his constant jibes, Xander was a good friend.

Yes, she would never be able to have with Angel what she wanted: a normal relationship. But that did not mean she did not want him as a friend, a close friend. She just wished he had shown up tonight. Buffy opened the door to her room and saw Angel sitting on her bed. The joy she wanted to feel was replaced by shock and a sense of violation. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

"Let me guess, danger is a foot."

Angel really hated to admit that she was right. He had wanted to meet her for a social call. But his meeting in the graveyard took precedence. "I ran into . . . something."

Buffy was ready to come back with a sarcastic comment on how the world would continue to turn and how she had eluded a few Apocalypses already and this would be no different, but something in Angel's face made her pause. The image of fear that played across his face was very similar to what she had seen on the vampire last night. Suddenly Xander's comments about Angel being next on the hit list did not seem so much in jest.

She rushed over to him. "Are you okay? Did it hurt you?"

Angel looked surprised. "Did you know about this thing? Why weren't you hunting it tonight?"

Buffy smiled loosely. "To be honest, something that walks around killing vampires, allowing me to spend a few stress free nights at the Bronze is not at the top of my 'To Slay List.'"

There it was again, Angel thought. No matter what they talked about, the fact that he was a vampire always showed up early in the conversation. "This wasn't a slayer," he said. "It looked like a cross between a vampire and a demon."

"A vampire is already a demon," Buffy said.

"This was different," Angel insisted, and he outlined everything he could remember about the night.

Buffy took it in thoughtfully. Angel was being serious, and he was scared. This was not a time for her to erect her sarcastic defense. When his story and description was over, Buffy nodded. "I'll tell Giles about it tomorrow. We'll see what he can dig up. I ran into a vamp last night that was running from this thing too. We did not exactly have a meaningful conversation about it but I got the idea something bad was out there."

"But if all its doing is killing vampires then why bother," Angel said, more than a bit of annoyance in his voice. Still he understood.

Buffy was hurt. "Please understand that you are unique. I'll bring this to Giles' attention and see what we can do about it."

"What ever you do, please be careful. This thing is incredibly strong."

"Remember who you're talking to," Buffy chided. "I'm The Slayer. I beat up demons as a hobby."

Angel chuckled. "If it's alright with you, I don't really want to go out again tonight."

Buffy nodded. "Understandable. You can have the floor. I believe you've slept there before."

"Thanks."

***

Giles, Willow, and Xander listened attentively to Buffy's tale the next morning. They all got something different out of it.

"So Angel spent the night?" Willow asked excitedly.

"Well I guess this confirms it," Xander said. "This thing is killing vampires, he must be one of the good guys."

"No," Buffy responded to Xander, "this Ernesto is evil. I mean it attacked Angel."

"And your point is . . ." Xander prompted.

"Xander!"

"No," Giles butted in, "I'm afraid he's right." Xander beamed. "Perhaps for the wrong reason," Giles admitted, "but he is right." Buffy turned to look at the librarian questioningly. "I mean at the end of the day, Angel is a vampire. We know him as a good guy, but if you did not know who he was and you ran across him on patrol . . ."

"I'd shove a stake in his chest," Buffy was forced to admit. "But Angel said that his attacker looked like a vampire, only uglier."

"If that's possible," Willow threw in.

"Yes, well, I've looked into it from the information you gave me yesterday, and I can not find any record of vampires hunting each other. I just don't see why a vampire would be killing his own."

A light went on in Buffy's head. "But Angel said that this guy said he would not kill him. He told Angel to come quietly and Ernesto promised he wouldn't kill him."

"And I've told a girl I like Eric Clapton, but didn't make her want to go out with me," Xander spoke up.

"Again he has a point," Giles said, though he had no idea who Eric Clapton was. He understood the reference for what it was. "I mean Angel didn't give up then, did he?"

Buffy shook her head reluctantly.

"I understand you have an emotional attachment to this, but try to look at it objectively, as a slayer. What we have is something out to kill vampires. I'll keep looking, but I don't know what I'll find. Where is Angel now?"

"In my room," Buffy responded, "with pillows in the windows I imagine."

"What's he doing?" Willow asked with child-like curiosity.

"Specifically," Buffy said, "not reading my diary, beyond that, he's probably just catching up on the morning talk-shows."

The bell rang and the room started to clear. "This thing is not good," Buffy stressed to Giles as she left for class. "I just know it."

***

A typical Thursday night for most high school juniors was spent in eager anticipation for the weekend, on dates, or at parties. It was not usually spent in the high school library.

"I've got it!"

All eyes looked back at the stacks and saw Xander emerging with a book. "What are you looking for?" Buffy asked.

"As you know I've been sorting of mulling over a potential pun, but I ran into the problem that vampires don't bite each other. That is," he smiled, "unless they are cannibals."

Gile's head popped out of his book like a cork in a bottle. "What did you say?"

"It's right here," Xander said, looking back at his book. "Vampire cannibals. This works perfectly for m-"

Giles raced up the short flight of stairs to grab the book from Xander. "Give me that. I've been such a fool."

"What is it Giles?" Buffy asked.

Giles was skimming as he walked back down the stairs. "Yes of course, I'm an idiot. I'm sorry Buffy."

"Because vampire cannibalism is so obvious," Willow chimed in.

"Well it should be if you're a watcher," Xander said.

"Yes, well, thank you," Giles said to both.

"But why?" Buffy asked. "Isn't sucking blood enough? I mean I know we don't have very good restaurants in town, but this is taking it to the extreme."

"Cannibals believe that by eating another human, you can take his spirit and his strength. Most of it is bogus black magic, and in the end it is no different than eating any other animal."

"Except that instead of eating Old MacDonald's cow, you are eating Old MacDonald." Xander shivered.

"For a vampire it is different. Vampires actually have a spirit within them that is separate from their human one. They are stronger and faster than normal because of their demon spirit."

"But if you eat them, they die," Willow said, "don't they? I mean wouldn't that kill the spirit too?"

"How do you kill a vampire?" Giles asked them.

"Fire."

"Stake."

"Sunlight."

"Anything else?" Giles asked.

"Nuclear weapon," Buffy hazarded. Giles frowned. "You're right, that kind of falls under being burned."

"Beyond those three things," Giles said, "a vampire can take massive injury and still remain alive. Isn't that right?" Giles spoke this last phrase a bit louder and aimed toward the entry to the library.

"Sounds about right," Angel said as he walked in. "You'd be amazed by the accidents I've been in, yet," he spread his arms out, "not a scratch."

"Angel," Buffy cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't imagine a safer place than next to a slayer."

"Unless you're a vampire," Xander said.

Buffy tried to get back on track. "So what are you trying to say Giles?"

"A vampire cannibal eats most of his victims. You know arms, legs, internal organs, the stuff not vital for a vampire's survival."

"Suddenly I'm wishing I didn't have Chinese for dinner," Willow said, turning pale.

"In eating most of the vampire, the cannibal absorbs the majority of his demon spirit and his strength. He leaves just enough to keep the eaten vampire alive, but not so much as to allow it to regenerate."

"That would explain this thing's strength and appearance," Angel said.

"So after he eats what, a hundred vampires, he gains enough power to reopen the Hellmouth?" Buffy asked.

"Not exactly."

"He commands a legion of demons?"

"He can turn the world into hell on Earth?"

Giles was scanning his book. "No and no."

"What?" Xander said. "No 'Apocalypse.' No 'End of the World.' I thought that's all those books of yours said."

"It says that he becomes stronger with each vampire eaten."

"That's it?" Buffy asked. "Doesn't sound so bad? How do we kill him?"

"I'm working on that. Ernesto sounds Latin American. If I had to guess, I'd say Brazilian, but that's only because I know he's a cannibal."

"So what's he doing here?"

"If you were a vampire cannibal and wanted a smorgasbord, where would you go?"

"A Hellmouth," they all said in unison.

"There's a reason fat guys hang out in a donut shop," Xander added.

"Precisely. It says the cannibal draws his power from the eaten vampires and therefor must keep them near him at all times."

"So this guy has a cash of half eaten vampires hidden somewhere," Xander concluded. "Based on what we had for lunch today, I say we start looking in the cafeteria."

"More likely the graveyard," Angel corrected. Xander tossed him a "Duh" look.

"Yes, if you can find those half eaten vampires and kill them, he should lose his power and will revert to being a normal vampire."

"And very slayable," Buffy concluded.

"This will require a coordinated effort," Giles said quickly, knowing how Buffy liked to do things alone. "One of you will have to distract the cannibal and draw him away from his crypt, while the rest of you find and kill the eaten vampires."

"Right," Buffy agreed. "I'll attack this guy, while the rest of you hunt for the crypt."

"I'll go with you," Angel spoke up, moving toward Buffy.

"Nonsense," Buffy disagreed. "You know the underground tunnels better than any of us. If you guys are going to find these vampire bodies and kill them in a expedited fashion, you'll need someone familiar with the tunnels."

"Buffy, you don't understand," Angel said. "This vampire is incredibly powerful."

Buffy turned sideways in an attack ready stance. "And what am I?"

"You won't last long against him."

"All the more reason for you to go with Willow and Xander to find this cash as quickly as possible."

They all looked at Giles. "Will you be joining us tonight?"

"I suppose. Let's see if I have enough stakes. There's no telling how many bodies he has down there. We better bring torches just in case."

***

The graveyard was still and quiet. This was normal, but Buffy felt the silence was somehow more profound tonight. She remembered her brief contact with Ernesto two nights ago. Granted, it was only a brief mental encounter, but Buffy felt confident that Ernesto knew who she was and would come for her. It did not take long.

Buffy sensed his powerful presence before she saw him. As usually, he was approaching from behind. She turned to face him and gasped. Angel had not been kidding. "I believe you have been invading my turf. Perhaps I should have marked my territory better."

Ernesto smiled a toothy grin. "Yes, Slayer, your sent is all over the place, but that has only made me look forward to our meeting all the more. I don't scare easily."

"And I don't taste very well, so you might as well just leave. Go find your own Hellmouth."

Ernesto threw his head back and laughed. Buffy's body snapped into action at the opening and lashed out with a vicious kick toward his head, or as close as she could get against her tremendously tall opponent. Her foot bounced off his chest like she was kicking a brick wall.

Ernesto swept his arm up under the kick, flipping her backwards, and he charged in. Buffy flipped completely, and sought out a grave stone as a landing pad. She jumped straight up, and with the added height, she was able to strike Ernesto's head this time. His forward momentum stopped under the powerful blow, and his own teeth cut his cheek as Buffy's heel smashed them together.

Buffy landed and hopped back, the two fighters taking a moment to realize their foe should not be underestimated. Then they charged again.

***

"I swear you've been leading us in circles," Xander said as they proceeded down the stone tunnel that looked identical to every other tunnel they had been in.

Angel did not bother a response but continued forward. Giles was trying to read a map by torchlight, but was not having much success. Every once in a while he offered a suggestion on where to go that no one paid any attention to. Willow was holding a second torch while Xander held onto his favorite bat.

"We've got to hurry," Willow said. "Buffy's bound to have met him by now."

The foursome turned a corner and entered another cavern. It was barren. Angel was taking them to every alcove and cavern he could think of, hoping that one of them had to be this cannibal's storage room.

"Another empty room," Xander pointed out unnecessarily.

Angel surveyed the room briefly and chose one of the several exits. "Are you sure we shouldn't go that way?" Giles asked, looking at his map and pointing in the opposite direction Angel had chosen.

No one, not even Xander, for all his dislike of Angel, decided to respond to Giles, and they all followed their undead guide. "Or not," Giles said. He flipped his map upside down, looked at it a few more seconds, shrugged, and followed the rest of his group.

A minute later they came up against a heavy wooden door. "Great," Xander said sarcastically.

Angel was well aware of how much time they were taking and grew frustrated at the dead end. He charged the door hard, lowering his shoulder into the old wood, but it stood fast. He bounced back, but turned around and kicked. The door shuddered but did not crack or splinter in the least.

Angel was about to continue his assault, but Xander grabbed his shoulder. "Let me try."

"What can you-" Angel started, but quieted as Xander calmly walked forward and grabbed the tarnished doorknob that was hidden under dirt and cobwebs. The knob turned easily and the door swung open.

Xander turned to look at him with an air of superiority, but any sarcastic comment that he wanted to say, stuck in his throat as they all looked into the room.

"Oh, my."

***

Buffy went flying through the air, her back slamming hard into a gravestone, cracking it in half.

"You are no match for my powers, Slayer. Just give up and we can end this."

Buffy had to admit that he was right. She was no match for him. She had changed her combat tactics to just try and survive, and she was barely succeeding in that. She had to last just a bit longer. Her friends would find this cannibal's stash of vampires soon. She had to believe that. All she had to do was last a bit longer.

She rose from the ground slowly, pretending to be worse off than she was. Ernesto laughed as he charged her. Buffy picked up a chunk of granite from the broken gravestone and hurled it at her foe. The chunk hit him square in the forehead, ala David and Goliath, but Goliath hadn't been an undead creature feeding of the spirits of a few dozen vampires.

Ernesto staggered under the blow, and Buffy's next two kicks sent him stumbling backwards, but he recovered quickly and backhanded the Slayer into another gravestone. Buffy got up slowly, for good reason this time. Ernesto stooped to pick up the chunk of granite that had been thrown at him, and returned the favor. Buffy rolled to the side as the stone vaporized against the marker she had been leaning against.

She continued to roll to her feet, but Ernesto was on top of her. Buffy punched him twice, but he did not honor the strikes with even a flinch. Instead his huge hands grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard. Buffy lost all sense of awareness, and she was reduced to a rag doll in his hands.

"And so the Slayer dies," Ernesto said as he brought her prone body up to his mouth.

***

"There must be dozens of them!" Xander said.

Giles counted the rows and did the math. "Thirty-one actually."

"Which is more than one dozen," Xander agreed, "hence dozens."

The bodies were littered about the room like potted plants in a solarium. Some were in open sarcophagi, others in crude wooden coffins. The rest were just lying on benches and tables. The demonic aura was strong in the room. Each vampire consisted of only a head and a very hollow looking torso.

"Sucks to be them," Xander said. "Give me a stake."

"Right," Giles said, suddenly remembering their urgency. He broke out a bunch of stakes, and quickly realized there was not enough. "We can use the torches too."

"I'd rather not," Angel said, keeping his distance from the flames.

"A bit risky for you, I imagine," Giles agreed and tossed him the stakes. He passed out another torch to Xander and they moved into the room. Angel was the first, driving a stake into the nearest stasis corpse. He watched the vampire's red eyes light up with his returned spirit and then disappear in a cloud of dust. "We must hurry," he called out, moving to the next vampire.

***

Ernesto's mouth was open and closing around Buffy's neck when a shock went through him, and a stream of hot dust exited his mouth. The unpleasant sensation on her neck brought Buffy back into coherence, and she kicked out with her foot. Ernesto should not have been phased by the weak kick, but he dropped his prey anyway.

Buffy rolled to a safe distance and came up ready. Ernesto started for her, but another shock ripped through him and more dust came shooting out of his mouth. Buffy smiled, guessing what was going on. She walked forward confidently. "What's wrong? Was it something you ate?"

She lashed out with her foot and spun Ernesto around. The cannibal tried to organize a defense, but wave after wave of energy ripped through him. Buffy thought he looked like a deflating balloon, his size and energy waning before her eyes. She did not take too long to appreciate the view, and continued her attack.

Ernesto could do nothing but throw his arms up in a helpless defense. He was beaten back methodically until he came up against a tree. He looked somewhat normal now, leaning up against the tree panting heavily, surges of energy still leaving him. He was no longer seven feet tall, but fell short of six.

Buffy had lost her stake in their earlier fight and ripped a tree branch down from above her. "Heartburn's a bitch, ain't it," she said as she spun about and drove the jagged end of the branch into his chest. "I'm the cure."

Ernesto screamed, or at least tried to as the rest of his collected energy was released. Blue energy waves rolled off him until the whole spectacle ended anticlimactically in a shower of dust.

***

"So dust was actually shooting out of his mouth as we killed the vampires?" Xander asked. It was morning and they were walking to class.

Buffy had been exhausted after her fight last night, and when Angel, Xander, Willow, and Giles returned from their gruesome task, they had said little.

"Yea," Buffy agreed.

"Was he choking on it?" Xander asked.

Buffy could tell where he wanted to go with this and humored him. "Yea, you could say he was. It was almost like he was chewing it."

Willow saw where it was headed now too. "No Xand-"

"So he was biting the dust as he bit the dust," Xander said, pumping his fist in the air. "I knew it would work!"

"Your priorities are messed up," Buffy said, and they all laughed. They were glad it was Friday.

The END

   [1]: mailto:dpontier@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/piqsid/stories.html



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